Maisel leads winners in 2013

FWAA Best Writing Awards September 2013 Veteran Ivan Maisel of espn.com nized in two different categories. USA Vol. 51, No. 3 claimed his fourth FWAA writing first- Today’s George Schroeder and Aaron place during his career in the results just Brenner, now with the Charleston Post announced for the 21st annual FWAA and Courier, each received two honora- Inside this issue: Best Writing Contest. Matt Hayes of the ble mentions. Ben Frederickson, now at Sporting News also won first place, Fox Sports Midwest, and Adam Lucas of picked up an honorable mention and Monthly captured the other first was one of three writers to be recog- places in the contest. President’s column 2

Game First place — Ivan Maisel, ESPN.com Second place — Andrea Adelson, ESPN.com Third place — Glenn Guilbeau, Gannett Louisiana Newspapers Game writing winner: Honorable mention — Matt Fortuna, ESPN.com; 3 George Schroeder, USA Today; Greg Barnes, InsideCarolina.com Ivan Maisel, ESPN.com

Feature First place — Adam Lucas, Tar Heel Monthly Second place — Sanjay Kirpalani, Bleacher Report Third place — Dave Guffey, GoGriz.com Feature writing winner: Honorable mention — Matt Hayes, Sporting News; Adam Lucas, Tar Heel 4 Kevin Armstrong, New York Daily News Monthly Column First place — Ben Frederickson, Casper Star-Tribune Second place — David Jones, Harrisburg Patriot-News Third place — Gentry Estes, Dawgs247.com Honorable mention — Aaron Brenner, Columbus Ledger-Enquirer; Column writing winner: Peter Kerasotis, HeyPeterK.com; Ben Frederickson, 9 George Schroeder, The Register-Guard; Casper Star-Tribune Pete Thamel, SI.com

Enterprise First place — Matt Hayes, Sporting News Second place — Curtis Eichelberger and Charles Babcock, Bloomberg News Third place — Scott Dochterman, Cedar Rapids Gazette Enterprise writing Honorable mention — Aaron Brenner, Columbus Ledger-Enquirer; winner: Matt Hayes, 10 Dennis Dodd, CBSSports.com; Sporting News Ryan McGee, ESPN The Magazine Page 2 THE FIFTH DOWN

President Chris Dufresne Los Angeles Times First Vice President President’s column Kirk Bohls Austin American- We here at You can start with longtime Bay Area Statesman FWAA are thrilled scribe Art Spander, who covered the first Second Vice President the season has Rose Bowl in 1902 and wrote in his next- Lee Barfknecht started because at day column that the game was so dan- Omaha World-Herald least now the daily gerous they should switch to chariot rac- Johnny Manziel es, which they did. Board of Directors stories will be off- Ok, that’s a fib, Spander didn’t cover Mark Anderson set by a few actual the first game, but he’s attended every Las Vegas Review- football games. Rose Bowl since 1954 or something. If Journal This figures to you want to know more, ask him in the Dave Jones be one of the most press box next January and then pull up Harrisburg Patriot-News exciting falls in a chair. George Schroeder recent FWAA his- USA Today The list was still being finalized as I CHRIS tory as we count Lee Feinswog write this, but what’s not to like? down the final year Sports 225 DUFRESNE of the BCS on our You have Bud Withers out of the Pa- Malcolm Moran way to the celebra- cific Northwest and Dick Weiss out of NSJC th tion of the 100 Rose Bowl game. Philly and the esteemed Phil Steele. Phil Mark Blaudschun has been told his ballot must be submit- AJerseyGuy.com The FWAA and Rose Bowl have unit- ted in larger type than he uses for his John Wagner ed for what I think is a very special pro- pre-season magazine or his vote will be Toledo Blade ject — the naming of the All Century discarded. Phil Steele Rose Bowl class. Phil Steele Magazine I could go on and on so I will. Mark Gina (Chappin) Lehe (her new mar- Blaudschun, Dave Sittler and Ivan Tony Barnhart ried name, pronounced “Leahy” like the CBS Sports Maisel are on the list. Ivan grew up in Notre Dame coach) brought the idea to Alabama and attended Stanford, so ex- Matt Sign FWAA at our pre-BCS title game meet- National Football Founda- pect a heavy voting dose of Pop Warner, ing in South Florida last January and we Bear Bryant and Jim Plunkett. tion basically said, as Johnny Football has Mike Griffith said so often, “Where do we sign?” Former Pac 10 Commissioner Tom MLive.com Hansen is lending his expertise as well The idea was to compile a list of Vahe Gregorian as my former LA Times colleague Mike prominent writers, historians and broad- Kansas City Star Downey. cast types and have them vote on an all- Jimmy Burch time Rose Bowl team by decade. Downey boasts complete geograph- Fort Worth Star-Telegram ical Rose Bowl open-field coverage as Wally Hall The team would then be released, he grew up in Big Ten shoulders town Arkansas Democrat- decade by decade, every Sunday during Chicago, worked in Big Ten town Detroit Gazette the season with a final unveiling and trib- and then moved to Pac 10 town Los An- Tom Kensler ute to the entire squad in early Decem- geles. Denver Post ber. Steve Wieberg Downey is also married to Dean Mar- There will be one player and one tin’s daughter. Dean, of course, was a Freelance coach named per decade and then one great crooner and associate commis- top overall coach and player for the sioner of the old “Rat Pac 8.” Ex-Officio bowl’s entire history. Joe Hornstein Anyway, this should be fun, which is Gina sent me an early version of the Florida International why we got into this business … remem- voter list in late August, and I must say it (CoSIDA) ber? sort of blew me away. Gina Lehe BCS-Rose Bowl This has to be one of the most im- Scott Chipman pressive panel assembled since “What’s Big Ten (ConSIDA) My Line.” THE FIFTH DOWN Page 3 Game writing: Ivan Maisel

Comment by the judge, Gene Duffey: Good lead that IVAN MAISEL quickly told the story of Baylor football. Story captured ESPN.com the mood of the game and Baylor's dominance. Liked Age: 53 the reference to Baylor knowing what a Heisman winner College: Stanford is like compared with Collin Klein. Nice quotes from Maisel has won first place in the Snyder and Klein. FWAA Best Writing Contest for the fourth time in his 26 seasons cover- By Ivan Maisel ing national , a bat- ESPN.com ting average that will surprise no WACO, Texas -- Floyd Casey Stadium will never be one in Spring Hill (Ala.) Little confused with Death Valley or the Horseshoe or any of League. Ivan also won for an enter- the college football palaces where road teams get prise story in 1994 while at The Dallas Morning News, mugged. It seats 50,000 in theory, if rarely in reality, be- for an ESPN.com column in 2003 and an ESPN.com cause Baylor just doesn't fill it up. It's old and unloved feature in 2006. Ivan covered college football for the and five miles from campus, and Baylor can't wait to tell DMN from 1987 to 1994, for Newsday from 1995 to you about the new stadium it will open in two years. 1997, Sports Illustrated from 1997 to 2002. Having tak- But don't tell any of that to Kansas State. The Wild- en some grief for job-hopping, he is delighted to have cats brought their brand new No. 1 BCS rating to Floyd worked at ESPN.com since 2002. Given the rapid Casey and looked like an impostor. Quarterback Collin change of how people use the Internet, he feels like he Klein came to Waco as the Heisman Trophy favorite and has job-hopped a few times without leaving ESPN. fooled no one. After all, Baylor knows what a Heisman What starting out as a writing job with a little TV on the winner looks like. side has morphed into writing, web video and, of RG III may be gone, but on a cool, crisp Saturday course, podcasting. Ivan has hosted the ESPNU Col- night, Baylor beat unbeaten Kansas State 52-24 and lege Football Podcast for several seasons, and this sea- ended the Wildcats' short-lived hopes of playing for the son was joined by co-host Matt Barrie. Ivan also has BCS championship. The Bears resembled their 10-win written two books about the sport. Ivan and his wife, team of a year ago, not the team with a 4-5 record that Meg Murray, live in Fairfield, Conn., and have three chil- stood last in the FBS in total defense (520 yards per dren: Sarah, a senior at Stanford, Max, a sophomore at game). RIT, and Elizabeth, a high school junior. The Baylor offense treated Kansas State as it has every other defense. The Bears gained 580 yards, in- to do with young guys wanting to be successful. They cluding 342 rushing yards against a defense that had wanted to play well. They wanted to play hard. They allowed only 98.9 yards per game on the ground. This wanted to win. We just couldn't handle the environment was no fluke. Baylor's four first-half touchdown drives as well as we could." went 82, 75, 55 and 64 yards. By "environment," Snyder didn't mean global warm- The Bears closed out a 24-point third quarter -- and, ing, and he didn't mean the noise in Floyd Casey. He essentially, the game -- when sophomore Lache meant, in part, Kansas State's first-ever No. 1 rating in Seastrunk rumbled 80 yards for a touchdown. The soph- the BCS. omore transfer from Oregon rushed for 185 yards on "I've wanted to think not but I can't assure you that only 19 carries. wasn't the case," Snyder said, employing a sentence But the real stars of the game played on the Baylor that, like Klein's interceptions, turned into a triple nega- defense, which harassed Klein into throwing three inter- tive. "I think it has to do with how we handled the overall ceptions, half as many giveaways as the Wildcats had all recognition that we were confronted with." season. That recognition will recede into the background now, Bill Snyder emerged from the Kansas State locker even as Kansas State remains a defeat of Texas away room, purple windbreaker unzipped, nursing a Styrofoam from the Big 12 title and a berth in the Tostitos Fiesta cup of coffee and looking as unruffled as usual. Snyder Bowl. prides himself and his team on maintaining an even keel. "We knew that No. 1 only matters at the end," Klein But when he opened his mouth, you could see his keel said. "It's very fickle and we knew that. We knew Baylor hadn't been even all night. was a very good team coming in, and we just didn't get it "I don't think we handled the situation as well as we done." should have been able to," Snyder said. "It had nothing (Continued on page 14) Page 4 THE FIFTH DOWN Feature writing: Adam Lucas

Comment by the judge, Alan Abrahamson: A great ADAM LUCAS feature should be a journey of discovery. This story is Tar Heel Monthly just that. It is full of not just connections but a series of Age: 36 incredible moments of revealing truths, each one taking College: Guilford the reader along through the story of one family's incred- Adam Lucas is the editor of Caro- ible journey to and through the American dream. The lina Digital Magazine and GoHeels cast of characters is rich and diverse. The action pieces Season Preview. He is also a fea- are well-told and the back stories riveting. Finally, this tured columnist for GoHeels.com, a piece also serves as compelling evidence that even in a site he joined for the fall 2001 football world increasingly turning to bursts of 140 or fewer char- season as one of the first columnists acters there thankfully remains a place for long-form on any official college site, thanks journalism and the art of the well-told narrative. largely to the foresight of director of athletic communica- tions Steve Kirschner. As a UNC Law School student in By Adam Lucas 2001, Adam enjoyed catching up on his sleep in torts Tar Heel Monthly class after the much-loathed 9 p.m. ACC basketball On the most famous play in modern Carolina football starts. As those naps became more regular and more ill- history, it looked like Gio Bernard was finally going to be received by his professors, he dropped out of Carolina in caught by his history. February 2001, which allowed him to go to many more He’d spent twenty years outrunning it. He’d lived in late games with no concerns about 8 a.m. classes. Sad- Haiti with no running water. He’d sat in a tiny bathroom ly, going to games as a ticket holder did not pay very with his brother and father, all three men in tears over well. He started Tar Heel Monthly in the summer of 2001 the loss of Gio’s mother. He’d shared an apartment in Ft. and published that magazine until the summer of 2013, Lauderdale with rats. when it switched to an electronic format and converted Any one of those events could change a life. They all into Carolina Digital. He has written six books about Tar changed Gio Bernard’s, but they didn’t stop him. Finally, Heel sports and lives in Chapel Hill with his wife, son though, here came his past across the Kenan Stadium and daughter. His favorite teams are the undefeated and field, and it had bad intentions. Southeast regional champion West Raleigh Baseball 8U He was running back a punt against NC State—that’s Blue All-Stars and the Carolina Ballet Nutcracker cast. not quite right, he was running back the punt against NC His daughter insists that he specify he is simply a proud State. He was on the right sideline, and he couldn’t hear parent of a cast member and — to her eternal apprecia- anything even though 62,000 people were slowly coming tion — not an actual cast member, since no one who to the same realization shouted by Jones Angell on the refers to intermission as "halftime" is allowed on stage. Tar Heel Sports Network: He blames his parents, who regularly let him miss school “No he’s not…” on the Friday of the ACC Tournament, for his passion for “YES HE IS!” sports. He couldn’t hear them, couldn’t hear the roar that began to build as they all realized, together, that this was happening. But he could see the end zone. And he could live. He didn’t have a car, or an idea of where his next see something else, too. meal might come from, or a job. “It gave me chills,” he says. He had nothing. Yven Bernard arrived in America with nothing. Today, according to an American Community Survey, I know you hear that and it sounds like the start to there are more than half a million Haitian-born immi- every immigrant story you’ve ever heard, but I want you grants living in America. In 1980, the Cen- to take a minute and think about it: On that night in 1980, sus counted less than 100,000. When Yven Bernard Yven Bernard arrived in America with nothing. He had a made his journey from Haiti, there were two ways to get shirt, and he had some pants. “I think I had shoes, but I to America—by plane or by boat. Plane was the relative- can’t remember for sure,” he says. “I might not have had ly easy way. Boat was the hard way. shoes.” He came by boat, and spent three nights crammed Here is what he definitely did not have: he didn’t have into the small vessel with 15 other Haitians. He remem- any money. He didn’t have a firm grasp of the language, bers that the wind and the water were vicious, and they because in his native country of Haiti, they spoke mostly crashed into the boat, throwing the 16 hopeful souls from Creole with a dash of French. He didn’t have a place to side to side. They landed near Delray Beach, Florida, (Continued on page 5) THE FIFTH DOWN Page 5 Features (continued)

(Continued from page 4) in a boat. Who could imagine this? He had a loving wife, and once they’d endured the wind and the ocean and and they were running a business that was becoming a the cold, they suddenly realized they had another prob- success, and their two sons were sports stars. lem: now what? Yvenson was the first to show talent on the football Yven Bernard lived in an apartment with several oth- field. He was a running back, and his teammates told er Haitians. He got a job working as a janitor. He found a him he was like Tony Dorsett, because he liked to run way to get enough food to survive. people over. Gio played football because Yvenson Now, when he looks back through the lens of 30 played football. If Yvenson had been a chess grand years, he’s incredulous that two life-changing events master, Gio would have been a chess grand master. If happened within days of each other: Yvenson had been a professional ballet dancer, Gio He came to America. And he met Jossette. She lived would have been a professional ballet dancer. Why next door to Yven’s building, and it happened instantly. would he want to do anything other than what his brother “It was like she was waiting for me,” he says now, was doing? and you can hear the joy in his voice. “Somehow she Gio would sometimes tag along when Paul took knew what was supposed to happen.” Yvenson to the beach to work out. Paul had seized on What happened was, well, a life. First they worked, every nuance of the game of football. He called the bag day and night. Soon they were married, and Yven had of tricks needed by every successful running back a moved from working as a janitor to working in a dry “toolbox.” He told Yvenson—and Gio absorbed it almost cleaners. by osmosis—to carry the ball in the outside hand when Wouldn’t this be good enough? He’d started with running along the sideline. “Have your free arm on the nothing and now he was most definitely something. But wide side with the tacklers,” he’d tell them. “You have to he wasn’t done. In 1985, the couple had a son, Yvenson have that stiff arm ready. Have your toolbox ready to (EVAN-son). Soon, Yven wasn’t just working at the dry go.” cleaner. He owned the dry cleaner. Seven years after Jossette and Yven didn’t get to see all the boys’ foot- Yvenson, Gio was born. ball games, because they were trying to run their busi- Their father had been a soccer player in Haiti, but ness. On the occasions Jossette did attend, however, they were Americans now, and with their father’s influ- everyone knew it. ence and the influence of their uncle, Paul, the boys be- “She would sit in the stands, and she’d tell everyone, came football players. There was too much of an age ‘My boys are going to be superstars,’” Yvenson remem- distance for them to be competitive. The strange thing bers. “We’d have to grab her and tell her, ‘You can’t say was, they didn’t seem to want to be competitive. Not with that.’” each other. How could you compete with your very best But she could say that, because Jossette knew. friend? The family was thriving. They had fancy cars and for If you saw Yvenson, you probably saw Gio. Their par- the very first time, they had money. What more could an ents worked—Jossette ran the front of the dry cleaner, American success story need? and Yven was usually busy in the back. “She was the It changed the way so many American families backbone of the entire operation,” says Paul Bernard, change: cancer. Jossette had thyroid cancer, and sud- Yven’s brother, who came to America in 1982. “The way denly the cars didn’t seem important anymore. The can- they worked together, she really was his right hand,” cer moved quickly and it moved insidiously. She died in says Gio. the summer of 1999, in Yvenson’s arms on the floor of a They had done it. They had the American dream, or home that had once seemed to be so important. Gio was maybe even more than that. seven years old. “When you decide to come to America from Haiti, It is 13 years later, and Yven Bernard doesn’t just you’re doing it because of an opportunity,” says Paul. sniffle when he talks about his wife. He sobs—big, gasp- “You don’t know exactly what is going to happen, but in ing sobs. America you know that there is a chance. You can try to “I still remember the last words she ever said to get a better education, and you can try to get a better Yvenson,” he says. “She told him, ‘Keep the family to- education for your kids. And if you get that education, gether.’” then you can set goals. In America, you can achieve “My main memory is my dad crying in the bathroom those goals.” and he couldn’t stop,” Gio says. “First, my brother went Really, though, this was more than even the goals in there. Then, I went in there. And the three of us just Yven had imagined when he was spending three nights (Continued on page 6) Page 6 THE FIFTH DOWN Features (continued)

(Continued from page 5) about Gio. The story raved about the younger Bernard’s sat there and cried. That’s when I really realized my ability, and Yvenson taped it to the inside of his locker (it mother wasn’t coming back. I was pretty young, and was a mutual admiration society; when Gio played the that’s the first time I realized that things don’t always NCAA football video game, he only played as Oregon work out. When some things are gone, they are gone State and his game plan consisted of 50 handoffs to the forever.” character in the game wearing Yvenson’s number). You may find this hard to believe: Gio Bernard used “Is your brother in high school?” a teammate asked to be big. Big for his age, and maybe even a little stocky. Yvenson. For most of his youth football career, he was a lineback- “No, he’s in seventh grade,” he replied. er, because he was one of the biggest kids on the team. “They write newspaper articles about Pop Warner He was too big—here, “big” is a nice way of saying players?” the stunned teammate asked. “heavy”—to play with his own age group, because his Yvenson smiled. That’s just football in south Florida. weight class put him a year or even two years ahead. Carter planned for his son to attend St. Thomas Aqui- Players have to weigh in to make sure a team isn’t nas, a private school in Ft. Lauderdale with one of the trying to sneak through a bigger, stronger player with the most successful NFL pipelines of any prep program in little kids. Sometimes, Gio’s weigh-in came with some the country. He thought Bernard could play at that level, drama, because making weight wasn’t exactly a priority too. But after Jossette’s death, the Bernard family was in his house. Eventually, one of his coaches decided he struggling, and Yven was having trouble running his was going to keep the talented linebacker close by to business without her. He would eventually lose the dry make sure he qualified. That coach was Cris Carter, who cleaner. He did not have the money to send Gio to St. had a Hall of Fame career for the and Thomas Aquinas. whose son, Duron, was a year older than Gio but in the But Carter knew what he had seen on those youth same weight class. football fields of south Florida, and he knew Bernard These are not your typical Saturday afternoon Pop could play at St. Thomas. He lobbied the ultra- Warner games where mom brings orange slices and dad successful head coach, George Smith, for an opportunity coaches the defensive line. Youth football in Florida, and for the linebacker-turned-running back. especially in South Florida, is serious. ESPN recently “I knew Gio had played in the league in Boca Raton,” ran a special on gambling in youth football, where fa- Smith says. “I never saw him play in person. He passed thers and brothers and uncles of seven- and eight-year the entrance exam, and when we started practice, he old players would wager on plays or games. When this is reported with the older players. You could see right away mentioned to Yvenson, he just nods. what was going on. He was a phenomenal talent and a “That’s how important youth football is in that area,” very smart kid. He was a smart football player, but he he says. “It is everything. It is the means of every inner was also a smart kid. He understood what we were do- city kid. You can get out of that area by playing football, ing, and even then he had great communicative skills and if you don’t play football, you’re a little weird.” and was very powerful.” “You’re dealing with kids who have a lot of ability,” Gio and his father were living in Boynton Beach, so says Cris Carter. “In every park, you’ve got kids playing their morning routine on school days went this way: first, who are going to be Division I football players, and you Yven Bernard would drive Gio to Carter’s house. Then, can see them at an early age and say, ‘He’s going to the Carter family would get Gio to school. Total, it took play at the highest level.’ There is such a pool of talent. about 80 minutes of travel time—every morning—before It’s not an urban legend. The parents understand the he walked through the doors of St. Thomas. system and what football can do for them and for their To ease the commute, they eventually secured an children.” apartment in Ft. Lauderdale. It was closer to school, but When Gio was in seventh grade, he played on a it was not home. That was when Gio grew up, because team coached by Bart Bishop. That was the first time he had no choice. Yvenson was all the way across the that a coach ever tried Bernard at running back instead country, and Gio didn’t want to worry him. He kept the of linebacker. It was, as you might have heard, quite a problems to himself, but that doesn’t mean he was oblivi- successful move. Word even spread all the way across ous to them. the country, where Yvenson had enrolled at Oregon “I knew every single thing that was going on,” he State and played running back for the Beavers. said. “We didn’t have money, and there were times my One afternoon, he received a package from a friend dad didn’t have a job. There were times we didn’t have back in Florida that contained a newspaper clipping (Continued on page 7) Page 7 THE FIFTH DOWN Features (continued)

(Continued from page 6) be found. There were no money problems. There was no anything to eat at night. We’d go through the drive- father bouncing from job to job, eventually losing even through at McDonald’s, and Dad would let me pick one his home and spending a few nights sleeping in his car thing off the 99 cent menu, and that would be my dinner, under a bridge. and he wouldn’t get anything. I knew he wasn’t eating, There was just Gio, and the field, and his sanctuary. but he would try to make sure I got something. St. Thomas was the very highest level of high school “You see those little things that a father does for his football, but he found that it wasn’t all that much different son, and you mature quickly. I saw things that not many from those beach workouts with Paul and Yvenson. kids my age saw. When you’re a kid, you don’t think Watching him, you’re seeing his family’s influence. you’re going to see your dad struggle, or see him cry. It The way he waits just an extra half-second at the line of shaped me into the person that I am. If you can fight scrimmage, seemingly caught in traffic but then bursting through to that next day, you’ve made it. Get the next through a hole that wasn’t there before, that’s part of the day. Get the next yard. Tough things are going to hap- toolbox. pen in life.” “My uncle always told me to try and slow the game The Bernard men were so hesitant to worry Yvenson down,” Gio says. “And if you do that, you can make the that he was completely unaware of their situation. He defenders in front of you do what you want them to do. came home from Oregon State and went to visit Gio. Each time I moved from one level to the next, he would “They had moved to a really rough area of Ft. tell me that the game was going to be faster, and I had Lauderdale,” Yvenson says. “I got there, and I was like, to find a way to slow down the game. I’ve always tried to ‘Gio, what is going on?’ And he told me, ‘Ev, this is set up my blocks. If I can make the defender go a little where we’re staying.’ There were drug dealers outside, further than he wants to go, I can cut off my lineman a and when you opened the door it smelled dirty. I could little sharper and try to make a play.” smell rat feces. The only thing my brother asked me was Those plays earned him national recruiting attention, if we could go to Best Buy to get a cord for his XBox. A even in a backfield that included future Wisconsin Badg- rat had eaten through the other cord. I had no idea all of ers standout James White. The combination could’ve that was going on.” been toxic, but instead, they found a way to play togeth- Gio never mentioned it to Yvenson. Matter of fact, er. Bernard even lived with White’s family for part of his Gio never mentioned it to anyone. This was just life. Why high school career. The White family was so smitten with would he complain? He had seen the other side. As a Gio that they celebrated his birthday just like they cele- small child, he’d spent some of his summers in Haiti, brated those of the family members. because his parents were working and Yvenson was With the Carters and Whites providing a more stable busy with travel baseball teams and football practices. home environment, Bernard was a national recruit. He Gio can still speak Creole, and even a little bit of rusty initially committed to Notre Dame, but a coaching French. The images, though, have stuck with him even change in South Bend changed his plans. Looking for longer than the languages. advice on his next move, he turned to Carter. “It’s a completely different culture,” he says. “Some It just so happened that Carter was a longtime friend people don’t have running water. Having clothes is not of Michael Jordan (you have to think that by this point, something that is taken for granted. Food is important. the number of players across every sport that Jordan It’s not something you easily forget. To this day, if I don’t has played some role in recruiting to is in finish my food, I don’t throw it away. I find a way to save the upper triple digits), and he also knew then-head it. That’s my roots. That’s where I come from.” coach Butch Davis. Carter’s son, Duron, had pledged to Now, when Yven sends Gio money, Gio tears up the attend his father’s alma mater, Ohio State. But Carter check. He hasn’t taken money from his father since mid- thought Carolina was the right fit for Bernard, and he dle school. On November 23, his father tried to give him placed a call to Davis to gauge the possibilities. money for his 21st birthday. Gio sent it back to him. “I “I told Coach Davis, ‘This person is like my son,’” know what he has done for us,” Gio says. “He has been Carter says. “’Do you realize what you would be getting? there for me every time I have needed him. It’s not right We’ve had a lot of kids in our home over the last six to for me to take money from him after everything he has eight years. None is more memorable than Gio. It’s not done.” because of how he plays football. It’s about his heart.’” Even during the deepest struggles, the football field Davis, who was already convinced of Bernard’s on- was the refuge. Within the confines of those 120 yards, field talent, pledged to nurture Carter’s protégé. In the there was no concern about where the next meal would (Continued on page 8) Page 8 THE FIFTH DOWN Features (continued)

(Continued from page 7) Not Gio Bernard. He knew instantly who it was. It was wacky world of college football recruiting, an Ohio State Brandan Bishop, his former seventh grade football team- graduate had just helped North Carolina land one of the mate. The one player who could stop him? He was the most exciting players in the program’s history. son of Bart Bishop—Bernard’s seventh-grade football Because this was the life of Gio Bernard, there had to coach, the first person to move Bernard from defense to be turmoil. There had to be an NCAA investigation, and offense. a torn ACL in his very first Tar Heel training camp, and “I was running, and at the same time, I was thinking, Davis never actually getting to coach Bernard in a game. ‘This is crazy,’” Bernard says. “I grew up with that guy. “The way I look at it is that everything I have been This is the guy whose dad put me in the position to play through has made me a stronger person,” Gio says. “My running back. I can’t believe all of us are here right now.” mother dying taught me about life. Being hurt taught me Bishop didn’t have enough speed to catch Bernard, about life. Not playing football for almost two years the player whom his dad turned from a linebacker into a taught me about life. I know what it’s like to struggle, and running back. Bernard scored, Kenan Stadium thun- I know how to treat something like a speed bump and dered and Carolina won the game. keep pushing.” In Ft. Lauderdale, Yven Bernard didn’t see the play So he became Carolina’s first 1,000-yard rusher live. He was working. On August 1, he’d taken over a dry since 1997, and then Carolina’s first back-to-back 1,000- cleaner from an older friend who could no longer run the yard rusher since 1980. He made first-team All-ACC and business. A regular workday now meant being at the missed out on the 2012 Player of the Year award by one office no later than 7 a.m. and leaving no earlier than 7 vote—an honor he seems certain to have received if he p.m. There were no days off, not even on Gio’s game hadn’t been injured for two games this season. days. But no matter what trophies or accolades he re- Soon enough, though, he heard about the play. Cus- ceived, there is one single play that will forever be his tomers were telling him about it. Phones were ringing. legacy in Chapel Hill. The last time Carolina had beaten Highlights were playing. State, Gio Bernard was still wondering where his next Yven Bernard is asked what this means, that he does meal might come from. Now, he was on the sidelines not remember if he arrived in the United States with late in a 35-35 game, and Roy Smith was ready to return shoes and now his son is a one-name-only legend in a Wolfpack punt with 30 seconds left. Chapel Hill. He has made a play that will live in Kenan Bernard heard offensive line coach Chris Kapilovic Stadium history forever. Carolina football fans who aren’t talking to another Carolina coach. “Should we put Gio born yet will hear stories about Giovani Bernard. back there?” Kapilovic asked. Bernard was on the bench “Why not?” Yven says. “It should tell everyone out nursing an ankle injury that had occurred earlier in the there, ‘Why not?’ If I can make it, if we can make it, eve- game. ryone else can make it. Life is a risk. You take a risk, “When I heard Coach Kap say that,” Bernard says, “I and you go far. My strength and my risk make me who I just said to myself, ‘Let’s go do it.’” am.” So he did. He put on his chrome-plated helmet, Yven Bernard is at work, of course, on this November walked out to Smith, and said, “Let’s see what I can do day as he recounts his son’s incredible plays. He asks if with this.” Smith offered no resistance. you might talk to Gio later in the day, and you tell him The punt forced Bernard back a couple of steps. He that you will. thought about fair catching it only briefly. Once he fielded “Tell him hello for me,” he says. “And tell him that I the ball and sprinted to his right, he had a glorious reali- love him, and I am so proud of him.” zation: “All I saw,” he says, “was blue.” He made it to the sideline with a convoy of blockers. At the Wolfpack 40-yard-line, he saw the only defender who had a chance to keep him out of the end zone. Eve- ryone else saw only red pants and a white jersey, the last possible man between Bernard and a legendary play. Not Yvenson Bernard. He knew instantly who it was. It was Brandan Bishop, who a few weeks earlier had become Yvenson Bernard’s Facebook friend because of their shared Florida football ties. Page 9 THE FIFTH DOWN Column writing: Ben Frederickson

Comment by the judge, Gene Duffey: Touching story BEN FREDERICKSON of young boy and his enthusiasm for Wyoming football. Casper Star-Tribune Well researched with good quotes from Wyoming coach Age: 23 and a player. College: Missouri Frederickson is a first-time award By Ben Frederickson winner in the FWAA writing contest. Casper Star-Tribune He joined the organization as a Uni- The chubby-cheeked, brown-eyed boy from Rock versity of Wyoming beat writer at the Springs beamed on game days. Casper Star-Tribune. Now a regional He loved to watch the University of Wyoming football writer for FOXSportsMidwest.com, he team play in War Memorial Stadium, especially when his helps cover the St. Louis professional dad let him go down, close to the field, to be near the sports scene and the Missouri Tigers. After graduating players. from the Missouri School of Journalism in May 2012, Phillip and Cherilyn Hansen had taken their son, Frederickson interned at the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Hunter, and his older brother, Phillip Jr., to Laramie three where he covered cops, breaking news and the Mongols times to join the crowd of brown and gold. Together, the Motorcycle Club. He covered Missouri men's basketball family had cheered for their Pokes. for the Columbia Missourian as a student at Mizzou, and But things changed after July 29, 2011. Instead of was a Rick Hummel intern at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch trips to Laramie to watch his favorite team, Hunter made in 2011. His work has been recognized by the Associat- trips to Primary Children’s Medical Center in Salt Lake ed Press Sports Editors, the Missouri Press Association City. and the Wyoming Press Association. Hunter was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia, a white-blood-cell attacking cancer that starts in bone marrow — and then spreads. a game,” Christensen said in his office Thursday after- Four rounds of chemotherapy took eight months. noon. “We wanted to make it special.” There was the hope of recovery — a period of remission What transpired was sports at its best. that started in January of 2012 allowed Hunter to return See, people who hear about Hunter can’t help but to school. But then came the resurgence of the disease learn something. When Wyoming players heard, young last March — a grim discovery that led to more chemo- men who had been on the wrong side of four-straight therapy, and a decision by doctors to try a bone-marrow football games received a dose of perspective. Sudden- transplant. ly, their issues didn’t seem so insurmountable. Then came more heartbreak for the Hansens. “We play this sport, football,” former Wyoming center On Sept. 18, Cherilyn Hansen died of sudden and and co-captain Nick Carlson said. “But life goes far be- unexpected respiratory failure as she sat with her son at yond touchdowns, extra points and all that. Hunter’s sto- a Ronald McDonald House in Salt Lake City. Nine days ry was pretty moving. It sure opened a lot of eyes for later, doctors determined Hunter’s transplant — his final guys, as far as what is really important.” shot at beating the cancer — had failed. And as for Hunter? “I know that my mom will be there to get me but not “He got to do things I’ve never let anyone else do,” until I have had my fun here first,” the 9-year old wrote in Christensen, who has a reputation for treating team se- a journal after his cancer had been declared terminal. “I crets like matters of national security, said with a smile. have so many things I want to do with my brother and Hunter, dressed in a Wyoming jersey with his name dad.” on the back, met the team at its hotel the morning of the That included another Wyoming football game. game. He toured the UW training facility and equipment Phillip Hansen knew his employer, BP, had connec- room, where he got a sneak peak at the new football tions with UW football. He sent an email inquiring about helmets Wyoming didn’t unveil until its final game of the tickets. He received a surprise. season. A video of Wyoming football coach Dave Christensen UW equipment manager Michael Aanonsen gave him appeared in Phillip Hansen’s inbox. Hunter’s face a steamboat helmet decal to take home. He added it to glowed when Christensen said he needed an honorary his other gifts from that Saturday: a signed football from coach for Wyoming’s Border War game against Colora- the players and another ball the athletic department had do State on Nov. 3. provided. “We wanted to make it more than just him coming to That last football read, “Hunter Hansen, Cowboy For (Continued on page 14) Page 10 THE FIFTH DOWN Enterprise writing: Matt Hayes

Comment by the judge, Alan Abrahamson: In this era MATT HAYES of 24/7, instant-access, always-on journalism, the enter- Sporting News prise story offers something different. It takes us behind Age: 47 the curtain -- tells us something we didn't already know, College: Florida couldn't possibly have known without the diligence and Hayes has covered college foot- the purpose of the reporters' craft. Often, these stories ball for two decades, the last 13 rely on years of experience or a network of sources. years for Sporting News. And while When you finish reading such a story, a complex subject awards and acknowledgment are has been made simple or what was once hidden has nice, while they’re an affirmation of been revealed. Even when, as was the case with Flori- the process of finding and telling sto- da's championship football team during the ries, nothing compares to his neph- years, it was hiding in plain sight. As the years go by, ew’s explanation of sports writing: “Our dad says you and the headlines about who was on that team continue don’t really go to work.” Funny how a 10-year-old can to vie for attention, this story may prove to be even all nail it with so much innocence. Matt lives in Orlando with the more illuminating. his wife, three daughters and three dogs, and where his job title is simple: play free safety and keep everything in By Matt Hayes Sporting News Meyer denies allegations that he cast Florida and its The uproar and controversy of Urban Meyer’s stun- players in a dark light when he spoke to the Diggs family, ning recruiting coup at Ohio State settled in and Stefon and said, “I love Florida; I’ll always be a Gator. My mo- Diggs, still on the Buckeyes' wish list, was debating his tives were pure as gold when I left. We left Florida be- future. cause I was dealing with health issues that I’ve since Diggs, the second-highest rated wide receiver in the learned how to control.” country, had narrowed his list of potential schools to But multiple former players and others close to the Maryland, Florida and Ohio State. For more than a week program say the timing of his departure was also tied to following National Signing Day on Feb. 1, and before the roster he left behind. Remember it was Meyer who Diggs eventually signed with Maryland, Meyer relent- hinted the program that won 13 games in 2006, 2008 lessly pursued Diggs. and 2009—and lost only 10 games from 2005-09—was Multiple sources told Sporting News that Meyer—who flawed beyond the unsuspecting eye. won two national championships in six years at Florida Now those issues have surfaced for all to see. Left in and cemented his legacy as one of the game’s greatest the wake of Meyer’s resignation were problems that can coaches—told the Diggs family that he wouldn’t let his destroy a coaching career: drug use among players, a son go to Florida because of significant character issues philosophy of preferential treatment for certain players, a in the locker room. sense of entitlement among all players and roster man- Character issues that we now know were fueled by a agement by scholarship manipulation. culture Meyer created. Character issues that gutted what The coach who holds himself above the seedy under- was four years earlier the most powerful program in col- belly of the game, who as an ESPN television analyst in lege football. 2011 publicly berated the ills of college football, left a It was Meyer who declared the Florida program program mired in the very things he has criticized. “broken” at the end of his last regular season game in “The program,” former Florida safety Bryan Thomas Gainesville in November of 2010. But why was it bro- said, “was out of control.” ken? “Over the last two years he was there,” one former Circle game player said, “the players had taken complete control of the team.” Ironically, Florida’s downfall began at the height of Only now, through interviews with multiple sources Meyer’s success—the 2008 national championship sea- during a three-month Sporting News investigation, do we son. Three seasons of enabling and pandering to elite see just how damaged the infrastructure really was and players—what Meyer’s players called his “Circle of how much repair work second-year coach Will Mus- Trust”—began to tear away at what he’d put together. champ has had to undertake in replacing Meyer—who “I’ve never heard of Circle of Trust before in my life,” has moved on to Ohio State less than a year after re- Meyer said. signing from Florida for health reasons. Former players, though, contend it was the founda- Page 11 THE FIFTH DOWN Enterprise (continued) tion of Florida’s culture under Meyer. In the season and I have talked since. He’ll do great things at Ohio opener against Hawaii, Meyer said a few elite players State.” (including wideout , linebacker Brandon That is, unless he hasn’t learned from his time at Spikes and tight end ) would miss the Florida. game with injuries. According to multiple sources, the three players—all critical factors in Florida’s rise under Maelstrom in Gainesville Meyer—failed drug tests for marijuana and were sitting out as part of standard university punishment. Even as the unprecedented success at Florida con- By publicly stating the three were injured and not be- tinued, a mounting number of players were dragging the ing disciplined, former players say, Meyer was creating a Gators’ name down a path of drugs and destruction. At divide between the haves and have-nots on the team. least 30 players were arrested in Meyer’s six seasons. “They were running with us on the first team all week Instances of substance abuse were often linked to his in practice,” one former player said. “The next thing you most prized athletes. NFL teams took notice. know, they’re on the sidelines with a (walking) boot for Hernandez admitted to failing a drug test at Florida, a the season opener like they were injured. Of course problem that cut his draft stock from first-round grade to players see that and respond to it.” fourth-round selection by the New England Patriots. It was Harvin, more than anyone, who epitomized the Harvin, according to multiple reports, failed a drug test at climate Meyer created. While former players say Harvin the NFL Scouting Combine and slipped from a top-10 always was treated differently as a member of Meyer’s pick to the latter half of the first round. Circle of Trust, it was the beginning of his sophomore Spikes, sources said, failed a drug test at Florida and season—after he helped lead the Gators to the 2006 was suspended four games during his rookie season national title—that it became blatant. That's also when it with the Patriots for using performance enhancing drugs. began to contribute negatively toward team chemistry. Offensive lineman , according to multiple During offseason conditioning before the 2007 sea- reports, last year tested positive for marijuana at the son, the team was running stadium steps and at one Combine. He fell to the Washington Redskins in the sev- point, Harvin, according to sources, sat down and re- enth round—and later developed into a starting guard in fused to run. When confronted by strength and condi- his rookie season. tioning coaches, Harvin—who failed to return calls and Just how prevalent was the drug use among Meyer’s texts to his cell phone to comment on this story—said, players? A source told Sporting News that Patriots “This (expletive) ends now.” coach Bill Belichick spoke to the current Florida team “The next day,” a former player said, “we were play- this offseason, and addressed the issue and how it im- ing basketball as conditioning.” pacts NFL careers. It only got worse as Harvin’s career progressed. At “His message was, in essence, don’t be like those one point during the 2008 season, multiple sources con- guys,” a source said. firmed that Harvin, now a prominent member of the Min- But none of those aforementioned drug problems nesota Vikings, physically attacked wide receivers coach was as prominent as All-American cornerback Janoris , grabbing him by the neck and throwing Jenkins', who, like Harvin, former players say, was pro- him to the ground. Harvin had to be pulled off Gonzales tected by Meyer’s Circle of Trust. Jenkins failed a drug by two assistant coaches—but was never disciplined. test at Florida under Meyer and was arrested for his part When asked about the Harvin incident, Gonzales— in a bar fight. He was later arrested twice for possession now offensive coordinator at Illinois—said, “I think it’s a of marijuana within the first few months Muschamp was little overblown. I mean, every great player wants his on the job. voice to be heard.” In fact, in the first month of Muschamp’s tenure, three Said Meyer: “Something did happen and something players—Jenkins, linebacker Chris Martin and defensive was handled. I don’t think it’s fair to Percy Harvin or Billy end Kedric Johnson—were arrested in separate inci- Gonzales to talk about it.” dents for possession of marijuana. Gonzales left Florida for LSU—a lateral move—after When he was dismissed from the team by Mus- the 2009 season, and did so by placing his keys, cell champ, Jenkins told the Orlando Sentinel: “If (Meyer) phone and resignation letter on Meyer’s desk. There was still the coach at Florida, I’d still be there.” were rumors that Gonzales resigned with a Post-it note This is the same Jenkins who, according to sources, on Meyer’s desk. walked out on Meyer’s postgame speech after the 2008 “I never left a Post-it note,” Gonzales said. “Urban season opener and threatened to quit. Meyer not only Page 12 THE FIFTH DOWN Enterprise (continued) brought Jenkins back without punishment, Jenkins even- Thomas had an injury that would prohibit him from play- tually developed into a freshman All-American and ing football. The medical hardship scholarship doesn’t played a big role in the team’s championship run. count against the NCAA limit of 85, and allows the af- Meyer says Jenkins “is a good kid who made a bad fected player to stay on academic scholarship. mistake,” and contends he was dealing with issues at It also made room for another recruit. Meyer denied Florida that occur at “every program in the country.” Eve- this tactic of roster management. ry coach, he says, has his own way of dealing with them. “As a coach, I don’t have any say in the medical de- “I am very proud of our guys that played at Florida,” cisions,” Meyer said. “If the doctors say a player can’t Meyer said. “Are there issues? Yes there are with 18-22- play any longer, he can’t play.” year-olds. I have been criticized that I have been too Thomas signed the medical hardship, stayed at Flori- lenient on players; that doesn’t concern me. We are go- da for the 2009 season and graduated before transfer- ing to go out of our way to mentor, educate and disci- ring to then-Division II North Alabama. With eligibility pline guys the way we see fit to make sure they’re head- remaining, he played in 23 games over the next two sea- ed in the right direction. Are we perfect? I never said sons and was an All-Gulf South Conference selection. that. We do the best we can and I think our record has He recently worked out for NFL scouts at North Ala- been really positive in the impact we’ve made on those bama’s Pro Day, and was in Gainesville for Florida’s Pro people.” Day. The biggest impact, former players say, was for those Thomas may be the only player who will publicly in the Circle of Trust. It wasn’t so much a focus on trust speak out against Meyer. Many others are fearful of as it was a revelation of talent. If you could play and con- Meyer’s ability to hurt their NFL prospects. Every other tribute, you were part of the chosen few. player contacted for this story asked to be unidentified. “(Meyer) lost the team’s respect,” Thomas said. “That “As far as coaching, there’s no one else like (Meyer); kind of stuff spreads through the players. They see what he’s a great coach,” Thomas said. “He gets players to do they can get away with, and they push it. Even the star things you never thought you could do. But he’s a bad players; they liked him because they were in the Circle person. He’ll win at Ohio State. But if he doesn’t change, of Trust. But it backfired on him. They didn’t respect they’re going to have the same problems.” him.” Said Meyer: "Was I dealing with entitlement issues? Will Columbus discover trouble? Yes. But they were great kids. If they weren't, I would've gotten rid of them." Before he walked on the field this spring to coach his first practice at Ohio State, Meyer ran into two more sig- Recruiting and reaction nificant problems. According to sources, Wisconsin accused Meyer and One way of ridding a program of undesirables is ros- his staff of using former Ohio State NFL players to call ter management. Recruiting is the lifeblood of all pro- high school recruits. Wisconsin also accused Meyer and grams. A direct correlation exists between winning at his staff of bumping into offensive lineman Kyle Dodson, recruiting and winning on fall Saturdays. who was committed to the Badgers but eventually Few do it better than Meyer. Few are as ruthless flipped and signed with the Buckeyes. The practice of when it comes to recruiting—and when it comes to mak- “bumping” occurs when coaches accidentally “bump” ing room for recruits. Thomas was a four-star recruit into players during recruiting dead periods. from Zephyrhills, Fla., and had a series of knee injuries Both the alleged phone calls and bumping are NCAA hinder his development. violations. After the 2008 season, Thomas says he was told he When asked about the specific charges, Wisconsin had to “move on” because he wasn’t in the team’s plans coach Bret Bielema declined comment but told Sporting for 2009. News a day after National Signing Day that, “I wasn’t “I told (Meyer) I was on track to graduate, I wasn’t a upset with Urban because of a gentlemen’s agreement. problem and I did everything I was supposed to do—I It was something else that I don’t want to get into. I told just had a knee injury,” Thomas said. “I told them I was- him what I knew, and he said he would take care of it n’t leaving, and if they tried to force me to leave, I was and he did.” going to tell everyone everything." Meyer said the alleged incidents happened “before I The next day, Thomas says he was given a medical was hired—in December, but I can’t remember the exact hardship letter by position coach stating timeline.” Meyer was hired at Ohio State on Nov. 28, Page 13 THE FIFTH DOWN Enterprise (continued)

2011. to have a first-team All-SEC selection for the first time in He said when he heard of the allegations, he asked 40 years. For the first time since 2004, Florida failed to the coaches involved and they denied any wrongdoing. have an underclassman in the NFL Draft. The Gators Meyer said Ohio State hasn’t self-reported anything to had only two players at the NFL Combine, the lowest the NCAA regarding those allegations, “because they’re number since the event moved to Indianapolis in 1985. not true.” Fifteen true freshmen—players Muschamp recruited— “Let me make one thing very clear,” Meyer said. played for the Gators in 2011. “There are no issues with Urban Meyer and the NCAA.” By the time Florida beat Ohio State in the Gator Bowl Ohio State is serving the first of two years of NCAA (while Meyer was recruiting for the Buckeyes), Mus- probation for several violations committed under former champ’s weeding out process of players who wouldn’t coach Jim Tressel, including multiple players receiving buy into his philosophy had whittled the roster to 72 impermissible benefits. The football program could be a scholarship players—13 under the NCAA limit. repeat violator if charged with an NCAA violation over The 6-6 regular season record was Florida’s worst the next two years, where additional severe penalties since 1987. The “broken” program—Meyer’s words— could be handed down. had hit rock bottom. During the heat of recruiting season, another dust-up “To put it all on a sense of entitlement or a few other arose in Columbus. It was the “gentlemen’s agree- things that happened, I disagree,” Meyer said. “It comes ment”—a loosely held ideal among Big Ten coaches down to players.” about backing off verbally committed high school play- When asked how such a dysfunctional team won the ers—that got Meyer into a dicey moment. national title in 2008, one former player said, “We had Meyer and his staff got eight players to back off ver- better players than everyone else. It’s that’s simple. We bal commitments and sign with the Buckeyes, and a few had (Tim) Tebow. We played without our next-best play- Big Ten coaches—including Bielema and Michigan State er (Harvin), who was injured for the SEC (Championship coach Mark Dantonio—spoke about the understanding Game), and still beat an Alabama team that would’ve among league coaches at press conferences. beaten Oklahoma, too.” A few days later, during a speech to the state of Meyer points to the loss of five juniors to the NFL af- Ohio’s high school coaches clinic, Meyer scoffed at the ter the 2009 season as the reason for Florida’s regres- notion of the “gentlemen’s agreement” proclaiming, sion in 2010. There was also a new quarterback, a factor “You’re pissed because we went after a committed guy? contributing to the loss of five games. While he says he Guess what? We got nine (coaches) who better go do it left Florida with talent—the Gators had a top-10 defense again. Do it a little harder next time.” in 2011—last year’s team also struggled to overcome But less than two weeks earlier, sources say Ohio quarterback injuries, among other problems. State running backs coach called a Florida Florida last month began Year 2 under Muschamp. assistant coach to discuss the recruitment of Lakeland, Spring practice featured several young players battling Fla., wideout Ricquan Southward, who was committed to for starting spots and a high-profile quarterback competi- Ohio State but was still being recruited by Florida. Dray- tion between sophomores Jeff Driskel and Jacoby Bris- ton, sources say, told Gators wide receivers coach Au- sett. brey Hill that Meyer and Muschamp had a “gentlemen’s Meyer, having replaced the ousted and beloved Tres- agreement” about committed players—and that Hill sel a year after served as interim, began his should back off recruiting Southward. first spring in Columbus trying to install a new offense, Southward eventually signed with Ohio State. and getting players “to do the right things and be good “I did not tell Stan Drayton that we had a gentleman’s people on and off the field—like I have done everywhere agreement with Will,” Meyer said. “Now, I don’t know I have coached.” Both coaches are rebuilding while deal- what Stan said to (Hill) in their conversation.” ing with significant baggage. Hill declined comment. Muschamp also declined and Only one is connected to both. said: “I’m focusing on our team getting better—not any- Muschamp declined to be interviewed for this story, one or anything else.” but in an interview with Sporting News last month he It’s a still fragile program demanding no less. hinted that things aren’t always what they seem. “This team is 15-11 over the last two years,” Mus- Coming off the bottom champ said. “I always look at the difference between reality and perception. Sometimes perception isn’t al- By the end of Muschamp’s first season, Florida failed ways what reality is.” Page 14 THE FIFTH DOWN Game (continued)

(Continued from page 3) extended its lead to 45-24. Klein completed 27 of 50 passes for 286 yards and Klein is a senior and the rock of a team that may two touchdowns. But the three interceptions matched his have overachieved in racing to a 10-0 start. But unlike season total. More important, at the critical juncture of his coach, he allowed his feelings to show. He looked the opening of the second half, Klein and the offense upset, and his voice caught a time or two. went colder than a Snyder glare. "It hurts, and it should hurt," Klein said. "Even Coach The Wildcats, who hadn't trailed by more than seven (Snyder) said it should really hurt, because that means points at any time this season, trailed Baylor 28-7 late in you've invested something. It means there is loss. There the second quarter. But a flurry of 10 points in the final is pain. But again, like he also says, it's going to test our 1:47 of the half gave Kansas State a boost as it went mettle. We'll see what kind of team we are." into the locker room at halftime, especially given that the If it were easy to go 12-0, or win the Heisman, more Wildcats would receive the second-half kickoff. people would do it. Kansas State gets two weeks to But on the first two possessions of the second half, study for its mettle test against Texas. Until then, the Klein went 0-for-6 and threw an interception that the Wildcats are stuck with the knowledge of what kind of Bears converted into a touchdown. In fact, by the time team they aren't. Klein completed a pass in the third quarter, Baylor had

Columns (continued)

(Continued from page 9) “Come on,” Christensen said after all the players had Life.” filed inside the locker room. “Get up here.” “They spoiled him pretty good,” Phillip Hansen said. The Cowboys, circled around the boy, helped him Hunter rode next to Christensen on a golf cart during stand on a chair. the Cowboy Walk and then joined the team for its “How about one big cheer for my man, Hunter?” pregame prep inside the locker room. When the Cow- Christensen said. boys took the field, the honorary coach led the charge, For 25 seconds, they cheered and stomped. walking hand-in-hand with Christensen onto Jonah Field. “What do you want to say to these guys?” Christen- He retired to Wyoming athletic director Tom sen asked when the locker room finally quieted. Burman’s suite for some much-needed rest after kickoff. “Thank you,” Hunter said. But first, he talked with star Wyoming quarterback Brett On Jan. 1, two months and four days before his 10th Smith. birthday, Hunter died at his home. He had fought the “He tried to have conversation with all of the players,” cancer for 18 months. Phillip Hansen said. “His message was to just do your “He wasn’t afraid of it,” Phillip Hansen said. “He tried best. And to never give up. He told the quarterback that.” to make every minute he had count.” Smith gave the boy a promise. He planned his own funeral. He picked the speaker “He came up to him before the game started and and selected his pallbearers. He chose his own casket. It said, ‘We’re going to score over 40 points for you,’” was one just like his mom’s. Hunter’s father said. “And they did.” Photographs of that November afternoon at War Me- Players passed the Bronze Boot around after the 45- morial Stadium scrolled through a digital picture frame. 31 win. But the trophy ended with Hunter. He wrapped His Wyoming jersey was draped over a table. both arms around the boot and shuffled his feet, carrying “He just loved that day,” Phillip Hansen said. “It was the prize all the way to its resting place. one of the biggest highlights of his life.”